1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for collecting and storing biological specimen for storage with decreased level of degradation of the degradable material within the sample.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Cells in a biological sample contain nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and so on. At least in the case of DNA, it is possible to identify with great accuracy the identity of the source organism of the biological specimen, so long as the DNA is left fairly in tact so as to be analyzable. In one type of situation, DNA fingerprinting is currently used to identify individuals using hair samples from the crime scene, which are analyzed for DNA content and matched with suspect's reference DNA. And there are many other valuable uses for DNA analysis, such as to determine paternity and family lineage.
Since all organisms, including microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, plants, viruses, and other living organisms contain genetic material, another valuable use for DNA analysis is in determining the identity of certain non-human organisms. However, left in its natural state, the particular cells and the genetic material may degrade and not leave enough time for the DNA analyst to study the genetic material before the genetic material has lost its integrity.
It is also desirable to collect and store non-genetic biological molecules, such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, including but not limited to toxins, polypeptides, endotoxins, exotoxins and so on.
Given the advantages and desirability of analyzing DNA from a biological specimen, as well as other methods of analysis, such as high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) to detect the presence of various biological molecules, which do not necessarily include genetic material, there is a need to collect these samples and store them for long periods of time. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide an apparatus for collecting the biological specimen and storing them for a long time with minimal degradation so that the biological material is substantially intact to be analyzed.